George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I will withdraw, but Mr Brunker used and abused the ratepayer-funded credit card as if it were his own. Items of expenditure can be seen indicating that Mr Brunker thought a nightly meal was part of the council package. Numerous expenses of up to $150 were made at the Horseshoe Bay Cafe, up to $82 at the Central Hotel, up to $173 at the Queens Beach hotel, up to $76 at the Denison Hotel and one $25 charge at Bowen Eagle Boys. Bowen ratepayers would not be too pleased to know their rate dollars went toward the mayor's lunch and wine with anchovies.

It gets worse when you look at Mr Brunker's wheeling and dealing with local developers. Here are some facts. Fact 1: Mr Brunker received assistance during the 2008 local government elections from a local property developer in the Whitsundays. That developer organised a function for Mr Brunker. Fact 2: Mr Brunker has assisted the developer and his companies in getting their developments through council. In a newsletter to shareholders, the developer says he can use Mr Brunker as a strike weapon to get council to prepare a package of conditions that include a full master plan. Fact 3: at Mr Brunker's pushing, the council purchased a block of land owned by the developer to turn it into a sports park. According to two other councillors who spoke to me, Mr Brunker was instrumental in facilitating meetings regarding the purchase of this block of land. Fact 4: the block of land cost the developer $1.442 million in May 2009. Fact 5: this decision was against the wishes of the local sporting community and also against recommendations by the Department of Transport and Main Roads and an independent consultant contracted by council to look into community sporting facilities. Fact 6: the block of land was purchased by Mr Brunker's council for $2.42 million in mid 2010.

So the facts of the matter are that a developer helped Mr Brunker to get elected to be mayor. Mr Brunker then facilitated the purchase of a block of land owned by the developer for $1 million more than it was actually worth, against the wishes of the community, against the recommendations of Main Roads and against the recommendations of council's own consultant looking into this matter. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to complaints that have come to me surrounding Mr Brunker's ethics. The upcoming local government elections give the people of the Whitsundays, Proserpine, Bowen and Collinsville a chance to resolve the question of ethics with the mayoralty once and for all, and the answer must be that Mr Brunker has to go.

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